IceDogs knock off top-ranked Steelheads
The first home appearance of the Niagara IceDogs this season was certainly a memorable one.
The IceDogs gave the home crowd of 3,289 — believed to be the fewest for a home opener in team history at the Meridian Centre — a little bit of everything, knocking off the top-ranked Brampton Steelers 7-3 in a wild Ontario Hockey League game that featured a goalie fight and a six-point effort from Kevin He as the IceDogs ran their record to a perfect 4-0.
All of that and plenty more occurred after the Steelheads scored just 18 seconds into the game on a shot goaltender Owen Flores would like back.
But the IceDogs quickly gathered themselves, potted four straight goals to take a 4-1 lead after 20 minutes, and never looked back.
“I’m pretty happy for 59 minutes and 20 seconds of the game,” IceDogs coach Ben Boudreau said. “You never want to get scored on on your first shot, first shift, in the first 15 seconds. It could have gone the other way but this is the script and the resiliency of our team and I think we’re starting to see a trend a little bit. When we’ve gone down in any game we have belief that we can come back. We just kept plugging away and when we had an opportunity to score, we scored.
“Nobody would have predicted the IceDogs would go 4-0 against the likes of Ottawa, Kingston, Oshawa and obviously Brampton being the No. 1 ranked team in the country.”
The IceDogs also stuck up for each other, not backing down from a talented and veteran Brampton squad.
“You can see in any type of scrums so we’ve got five guys in there and what we call a dog pack, where if one’s in trouble, we got five guys coming. We do everything as brethren in there and I think it’s really starting to show.”
Six minutes into the second period, a fracas broke out between the IceDogs Mason Wray and Brampton’s William Eggleton. That turned out to be the undercard for a brief, but intense punch up between Niagara goaltender Owen Flores and Brampton’s Jack Ivankovic near centre ice that started when Flores came out to his own blueline and challenged his counterpart.
“If it’s a 3-2 game maybe you don’t like that but it’s a 4-1 and he’s fighting for our guys,” Boudreau said. “At that moment, he’s already played four games. I didn’t hate it because, you know, I felt guilty not playing Charlie (Robertson).
“At least this way it’s kind of a win-win situation. Flo gets in there, maybe sell a couple tickets to the next game and make the owner happy, and Charlie gets some experience as well. If anybody would have watched our bench and the reaction when he got him down, we were just fired up and instead of sitting at 4-1 we found a way to get it up to 7-1 so I look at that as a huge turning point for the better for us.”
Flores will almost assuredly get suspended at least two games for being involved in the second fight on the ice.
Almost lost in the pugilism was an impressive effort by He, who collected three goals and three assists, and now has six goals and 11 points in the first four games of the season.
“We’re pretty happy,” He said. “We just played the No. 1 team in the CHL right there and proved what we could do out there. I couldn’t have done it without my teammates. It was a whole team effort from the top the bottom.”
He said the team was pumped to see Flores drop the gloves.
“It just shows how tight our group is and how everyone’s got each other’s back. You’re not going down alone in there.”
Niagara rookie Max Crete also had a standout game, notching a pair of goals and almost getting into a skirmish himself standing up for a teammate.
The IceDogs, who lost all six games versus the Steelheads games last year when they were based in Mississauga, are home to Owen Friday and North Bay Saturday.
“When you have belief in yourself, you can accomplish anything,” Boudreau said. “It’s been a dream start, but we’re not satisfied. We have to keep our pedal down on the floor, for sure.”
Ice cubes: Mike Levin, Gavin Bryant and Nick Frasca did not dress for the IceDogs . . . Gabriel Chiarot, Spencer Sova, Owen Cartwright and Troy Patton were scratched for the Steelheads.
STATS PACK
IceDogs 7 Steelheads 3
Niagara forward Kevin He with three goals and three assists and Brampton’s Lucas Karmiris with two goals.
Niagara IceDogs: Kevin He 3 (4, 5, 6); Max Crete 2 (2, 3); Ryan Roobroeck (3); Ethan Czata (1).
Brampton Steelheads: Lucas Karmiris 2 (2, 3); Porter Martone (5).
Game stats: Shots on goal: By Niagara on Jacob Gibbons/Jack Ivankovic (34), by Brampton on Owen Flores/Charlie Roberston (40); Power plays: Niagara 1/5, Brampton 0/5; Penalty minutes: Niagara 26, Brampton 26.
Attendance: 3,289.
Next up: IceDogs host the Owen Sound Attack Friday at 7 p.m. and the North Bay Battalion Saturday at 7 p.m.
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